'Ransom My Heart' by Meg Cabot: A Mini-Review // A Gender-Bent Robin Hood, Steamy Romance & Hilarious Mishaps In The English Countryside!

Book Reviews

Title: Ransom My Heart
Author: Meg Cabot, writing as Mia Thermopolis
Publisher: Pan Publishing
Pub. date: 6 January 2009
Series: companion to The Princess Diaries
Page count: 416
Genre: adult, historical fiction, romance

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Mia Thermopolis, Princess of Genovia and star of Meg Cabot’s insanely popular #1 New York Times bestselling Princess Diaries books, has “penned” her first historical romance novel . . . with help from Meg Cabot
He’s a tall, handsome knight with a secret. She’s an adventurous beauty with more than a few secrets of her own. Finnula needs money for her sister’s dowry, and fast. Hugo Fitzstephen, returning home to England from the Crusades with saddlebags of jewels, has money, and lots of it. What could be simpler than to kidnap him and hold him for ransom?
Well, for starters, Finnula could make the terrible mistake of falling in love with her hostage.
Princess Mia Thermopolis, Meg Cabot’s most beloved character, has always been an outspoken animal-rights activist and committed environmentalist. In keeping with Mia’s true spirit, Meg will be donating her advance to Greenpeace.

Content warnings: alcohol consumption, forced marriage, kidnapping, lethal injuries, loss of a parent & sibling (mentioned), murder, poisoning (mentioned), sexual content

I picked up Ransom My Heart because of my love for Meg Cabot and religious commitment to her Princess Diaries series. I went in expecting a fun rom-com set in 1920’s English countryside and I wasn’t disappointed, I guess.

The MCs, Finnula and Hugo, were good characters. They could have been fleshed out a bit more but I still liked how they complemented each other. Even the side characters were entertaining and had great comedic relief.

The writing and plot were my favourite bits of this book though! Cabot’s signature sarcastic humour and lively storytelling were the main reason I finished reading this book. There were several moments when I was giggling at hilarious dialogue and the nasty mishaps these characters kept falling into.

I expected more from the worldbuilding since 1920’s England seems so vague and it just seems like a generic countryside to me. There was nothing that distinct about Stephensgate or any other village they came across. So, I was disappointed by that factor.

Overall, this was a fun, lively historical romance with plenty of misadventures and comedic relief. However, I would not recommend this to anyone who wants a more sober story with some solid world-building and characterization.

Here’s more Ransom My Heart content you can check out: Jane’s review letter to HRH Thermopolis, Genny’s review, Mindy’s review

Meg Cabot was born in Bloomington, Indiana during the Chinese astrological year of the Fire Horse, a notoriously unlucky sign, but learned at an early age that a good storyteller can always give herself a happy ending. Her 80+ books for both adults and tweens/teens have included multiple #1 New York Times bestsellers, selling over twenty-five million copies worldwide. Her Princess Diaries series has been published in more than 38 countries and was made into two hit films by Disney. Meg’s numerous other award-winning books include the Mediator series, the Heather Wells mystery series, and Avalon High, the later of which was made into a film for Disney Channel. Meg Cabot (her last name rhymes with habit, as in “her books can be habit forming”) currently lives in Key West with her husband and various cats.